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 Bug tracking systems
sound like a real headache. Why would anybody want to track bugs? Most of us
would like to never hear about a bug in our software ever again - let alone go
out of our way to track them! But if course we can't really demonstrate that we
have improved unless we come up with a common sense means of measuring our
progress. More importantly tracking bugs helps us to prioritize and keep track
of the many issues that come up during the software development effort and of
course during the product usage as well. Maybe we really need to rename bug
tracking terminology to something like "Solutions Knowledge base" because any
good bug tracking tool also helps us keep track of the solutions to solve
problems and fix bugs as well. Bug tracking is very important to people who
want to develop quality code. Read on if you would like a brief description of
why we need bug tracking in the first place.
Software Development is complex The business of writing software is very complex, usually requiring highly skilled technical resources along with the right tools and process. Keeping track of what needs to get done is a difficult task that can often seem like trying to hit a moving target - and it is! Bug tracking allows us to quickly make important notes on defects that have been found in the code and more importantly to set their priority. Critical bugs or "show-stoppers" must be fixed or else the product cannot work effectively. But cosmetic or low priority items can be noted and then fixed in a later release on schedule. Bug tracking helps us manager the software development effort more effectively. It's all about solutions A well maintained bug tracking system also keeps track of the status of items that have been fixed and acts as a living knowledge base for the future. I have personally had two positions where I helped out as a Unix Systems administrator. This was not my main background and so I was often struggling to find solutions to common problems with the Unix infrastructure. The defect tracking systems allowed me to quickly ascertain if the problem that I was working on had occurred previously and often gave the solution documented in the previous admins notes. Bug tracking systems really become the companies knowledgebase of problem history and solutions. Some tools are more robust than others Bug tracking systems can run from the simple open source tools such as bugzilla to elaborate commercial defect tracking systems that have integrations already implemented to seamlessly work along with automated test tools and source code management tools. One important usage paradigm is to have your source code repository setup so that whenever a developer tries to change the source code he/she is asked to provide a defect number to indicate why the code is being changed and what defect is being fixed. This is an excellent approach that allows you to search a database for a problem and then quickly ascertain the exact lines of code changed to fix a particular problem. Picking the right solution for your team Picking the right bug tracking system for your use is an important task. Starting with a complex tool that requires a lot of support is often a costly mistake that does not yield satisfactory results. However, picking a tool that has limited capabilities is also the wrong choice and will usually mean that you have to go through the effort (and cost) all over again in upgrading to a more robust tool. As always right sizing your defect tracking solutions (or any other tools) is all about defining your goals and requirements. CM Basics is intended to give you a brief introduction to relevant CM topics. The CM Journal goes into far more detail and is targeted at knowledgeable professionals in the field of software development. We welcome our readers to communicate their challenges in implementing tools and process. At CM Crossroads we are always delighted to share best practices especially in the form of replying to our readers and colleagues. So please do write to me about your questions about bug/defect tracking systems along with the overall field of Configuration Management. Bug tracking systems are great knowledgebases dealing with defects found in your code. CM Crossroads is your knowledgebase for establishing effective Application Lifecycle Management including Configuration, Release management and software development! Bob Aiello is the Editor in Chief for the CM Journal and the manager of process improvement for a financial services firm in New York City. He has implemented and supported SCM solutions and release management processes at large financial services firms supporting hundreds of developers, located throughout the U.S, Europe and Asia. Bob is one of the original members of the NYC Software Process Improvement Network (CitySPIN) where he has also served as the chair of the NYC CM SIG. Mr. Aiello has a Masters in Industrial Psychology from NYU and a BS in Computer Science from Hofstra University.You may reach Mr. Aiello at raiello@acm.org
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... Oh, so very true and known by all excepting management...this should not be news to anyone in the IT arena...good job in presenting the need... |
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